The Man From Plains

The Man From Plains

Does it make a difference if the president of the United States is a Christian?

JIMMY CARTER was born in Plains, Georgia, in 1924 and grew up on a farm just outside of town. As a child, Jimmy had only one white friend outside of school, the rest being the children of the local black sharecroppers. He attended the white segregated school in Plains. There every school day began with a half-hour chapel service for all the students. After the pledge of allegiance, a hymn such as “He Leadeth Me” or “Onward Christian Soldiers,” was sung, and the singing of “America” or “Dixie” followed. Bible verses were recited, and sometimes there was an outside speaker, usually one of the white ministers from the town.

The three white churches in Plains were Southern Baptist, Methodist, and Lutheran. All three were too small to support a full-time pastor. Often the Baptists and Methodists would hold services on alternate Sundays so their congregations could visit back and forth. Black and white Baptists had worshiped together at the Lebanon Baptist Church until the Civil War, when emancipation led to the formation of a white church, Plains Baptist Church. The black Lebanon Baptist Church was the largest church in town.

The high points of the church year in Plains were the weeks of revival meetings. The Baptist and Methodist churches would schedule their revivals at different times so that their congregations could attend both. In the weeks leading up to each revival, the pastor and deacons would visit the members of every white family in Plains who had not yet trusted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. An outside preacher would be invited in for the week, and there would be two services each day, one in the morning especially for housewives and one in the evening for everyone. It was at one of these revival services when Jimmy was eleven that he put his trust in Jesus Christ.

Jimmy received an appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy, graduating in 1946. He then married his high school sweetheart, Rosalynn Smith, and spent the next seven years in the navy. However, when his father died in 1953, he resigned his commission to return home to run the family farm and peanut business.

In addition to successfully taking over the family business, Carter was elected to the state legislature as a Democrat in 1962 and 1964. Carter then ran unsuccessfully for governor of Georgia in 1966 and was very discouraged by his defeat. He asked his sister, Ruth Carter Stapleton, to go for a walk with him in the woods. As they talked, Ruth convinced him that he would never be really happy until he made Jesus Christ the most important thing in his life.

The following year, 1967, proved to be the spiritual turning point. As he later said, “I began to realize that my Christian life, which I had always professed to be preeminent, had really been a secondary interest in my life, and I formed a very close, personal intimate relationship with God through Christ.”

Carter was elected governor of Georgia in 1970. After completing his term, he launched a campaign for president and on July 14, 1976, he received the Democratic nomination for president of the United States. In the election he soundly defeated President Gerald Ford, the Republican candidate.

Carter’s administration produced mixed reviews. He persuaded Israel and Egypt to agree to the Camp David peace accord, but his White House years were also plagued with inflation, unemployment, and above all, the Iran hostage crisis.

In Carter’s run for reelection in 1980, Ronald Reagan won a landslide victory, criticizing Carter for ineptitude and a lack of leadership.

In spite of the challenges he faced as president, Jimmy Carter was perhaps the most dedicated Christian ever to occupy the White House.

Reflection

Should a person vote for a candidate just because he is a Christian? Many voters did so in voting for Jimmy Carter in 1976 and then abandoned him for Ronald Reagan in 1980. To what extent should a candidate’s religious beliefs influence our vote?

Let us follow the Holy Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.

Galatians 5:25